China’s ABS market maintains strong growth

BEIJING — China’s securitization issuance maintained strong growth in the first half of this year with consumer credit deals up steadily, Fitch said in a report.

Nearly 250 transactions of asset-backed securities (ABS) worth 422 billion yuan ($64 billion) were made in the January-June period, up from 189 deals and 289 billion yuan a year ago, the report said.

The rating agency attributed the performance partly to the securitization of credit assets that jumped more than 40 percent year on year to 191 billion yuan.

The top three consumer credit assets, which are collateralized loan obligations, auto ABS and mortgage-backed securities, accounted for 78 percent. The proportion will continue to improve during the remainder of the year, according to the report.

Securitization is the process of transforming illiquid assets, including outstanding loans and receivables, into securities, which frees up idle assets in the banking system.

The Chinese government has placed increasing emphasis on such deals to improve the efficiency of capital use and stimulate lending to the real economy.

Infrastructure projects funded by public-private partnerships have been allowed to raise funds through securitization, and pilots have been expanded for banks to securitize bad loans.